Key to his economic agenda

By Alicia Sanchez Gomez |

New York (EFE).- White House candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, bring very different agendas to their economic policies on taxation and tariffs, although both agree on their interest in reducing inflation and reducing inflation. Avoid preparing specific proposals. .Increased national debt.

These are some of the keys to the economic program that each candidate presents:

Counter-attack between Trump and Harris on taxation

Donald Trump has proposed reducing the corporate tax from 21% to 15% for companies that make their products in the United States.

The Republican candidate has also proposed eliminating taxes on monthly Social Security benefits, as under current law beneficiaries of these services must pay taxes on 50 to 85% of their benefits.

In contrast, Harris has expressed the idea of ​​raising the corporate tax rate from 21 to 28%, while she has promised not to raise taxes on American households making $400,000 or less per year.

Democrats have also proposed raising the long-term capital gains tax rate to 28% for Americans earning $1 million or more and have advocated a multimillion-dollar minimum tax on those whose net worth exceeds $100 million.

One of the candidates’ main objectives is to combat inflation: To do this, Harris plans to ban predatory pricing across the country, while Trump has promised to lower the prices of gasoline, groceries and other goods. .

Duty

One of Trump’s most controversial economic proposals is to increase tariffs on American imports from 10% to 20%, a figure that increases significantly in the case of products from China (60%) and in the case of imports from those companies in the United States. Who will transfer their production. Mexico (200%).

It has been criticized by analysts, who claim it could lead to a large increase in the United States’ public debt, and many have also questioned its legality, as the country’s Constitution empowers Congress, not the President, to impose tariffs. Gives power to apply.

For her part, Harris did not go into details on the matter, although Joe Biden’s government has retained most of the tariffs from the previous Trump presidency these four years.

Harris has focused her economic speeches on her desire to promote new small businesses, promising a tax cut of up to $50,000 (ten times the current $5,000 deduction).

Additionally, the Democrat has set a goal of generating 25 million new small business applications in the first two years of his presidency.

Harris, on the other hand, has proposed giving families a $6,000 tax credit for each newborn baby during their first year of life and restoring another tax credit of $3,600 per child for middle- and lower-class families.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is proposing to temporarily limit credit card interest rates to about 10% and eliminate the interest tax deduction on auto loans to help middle-class Americans.

Accommodation

On the housing issue, Harris has suggested building 3 million new housing units over the next four years while offering $25,000 to first-time home buyers.

Meanwhile, Trump proposed tax incentives for home buyers and promised to reduce the high costs of the real estate market, reduce inflation and end illegal immigration.

Health

In terms of health, Kamala Harris wants to expand subsidies from the Affordable Care Act – known as “Obamacare” – which help low- and moderate-income people obtain health coverage.

Harris proposes that the Medicare Senior Health Program cover the costs of home caregivers, as well as expand the $35 cap for insulin costs beyond the plan’s clients.

For his part, Trump has not provided details about his health program (when asked about it in the presidential debates, he said he had “a concept for a plan” that he had not yet developed). .

The great unknown: the US debt

Some analysts have criticized both candidates’ economic plans for lacking details on how Trump and Harris would reduce the US public debt (which stands at more than $35 trillion by 2023, which is 118.73% of the country’s GDP). represents).

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Harris’ plan would increase the debt by $3.5 trillion over the next decade, while Trump’s plan would increase it by $7.5 trillion.